Practice Report No. 2

Practice No. 2 of Fall Camp 2010 is in the books as the Badgers completed 28 periods of helmets-only football outside in Camp Randall Stadium. The players kick it up a notch tomorrow as they go half-pack for the first time this season on Wednesday at 2:35 p.m.

Watt showing leadershipHaving lost seniors O'Brien Schofield, Jeff Stehle and Dan Moore to graduation, the Badgers will be bringing in some fresh faces along the defensive line in 2010. In their stead, the group is going to need a player, or players, to step up and be a leader. After two days of practice, junior J.J. Watt seems to have already taken to that role.

As the defensive line was going through a pass rushing drill on Tuesday, assistant coach Charlie Partridge, unhappy with what he was seeing, stopped things and forced the players into up-downs.

Later, as the players gathered during their water break, Watt gathered the d-linemen together. He told his teammates that one bad rep during a drill can ruin an otherwise good day of practice and that they had to pick things up physically and mentally. There were only eight periods left in practice, but he told them that they had to raise the intensity for the remainder and show exactly what they were made of during team drills.

Pre-snap practiceToward the end of practice, the team spent a good deal of time working on pre-snap adjustments. A group of skilled-position players would run on to the field and line up. From there, the players would go into the pre-snap motions before setting in their formation. Conversely, the defense was responsible for calling out the initial package, communicating all the shifts that were occurring and then recognizing the final formation. This drill debuted last year in an effort to clean up any pre-snap penalties or wrong alignments.

Transferring knowledgeIn yesterday's session with the media, head coach Bret Bielema emphasized how what the players are doing today will help them on Day 30, meaning players need to build on what they've learned from the first day to better themselves.

Senior defensive back Niles Brinkley seems to have taken that to heart. Bielema singled out Brinkley as the team gathered at the end of practice for showing exactly what he was talking about. In team drills, Brinkley intercepted a pass, utilizing skills he had practiced earlier. It's this type of application of skills that bodes well for future success for Brinkley and the team as a whole.

Defensive play of the dayRedshirt freshman defensive lineman Pat Muldoon had the play of the day on defense. Lined up against the scout offense, Muldoon broke into the backfield and picked off a pass from freshman Drew McAdams as he tried to hit a receiver in the flats. Muldoon took a few steps after the interception as his fellow defenders, especially his fellow defensive linemen, cheered him on.